Parachute attachment for flying machines



I. F. WEBB. Sn.

PARACHU'TE ATTACHMENT FOR FLYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 2,1917. RENEWED OCT. 23| 191B.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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ATTORNEYS/ 1. F. WEBB. SR. PARACHUTE ATTACHMENT FOR FLYING MACHINES.APPLICATION FILEDVIULY 2,1911. RENEWEDIOCT. 23,1918- 1 3 1 4, 446Patented Ang. 26, 1919.

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l. F. WEBB, SR.

PARACHUTE ATTACHMENT FOR FLYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION man JULY 2,1911. RENEwEo 0m23.191s.

1 ,3 1 4,446. Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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20 d "il .1 o i ST TIl www INVENTOR J. F. WEBB, Sn.

FARACHUTE ATTACHMENT FOR FLYING MACHINES; APPLICATION mw JULY 2, wiz.niuzweo ocT.2a.1s|a.

1 ,3 14,446. Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

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INVENTOR anl? 717355.11771 BY m ATTORNEYS 'UN ITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

JEAN F. WEBB, SR., F NEW YORK, N. Y.

PARACHUTE ATTACHMENT FOR FLYING-MACHINES.

To all lwho/la it may conce/fn Be it known that I, JEAN F. lVnn, Sr.,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ParachuteAttachment -for Flying-Machines,

f of which the following is a specification.

1e object of this invention is to provide a parachute attachment foraeroplanes that is so small and compact when reelcd in, and in placeready for instant act-ion. that it offers no resistance to the air inflying, and is practically invisible; yet when unreeled and expanded ithas such an enormous sustaining powerthat it will sustain, not only theaviator, but the weight of the aeroplane also.

It is preferably attached to, or built into the fuselage of anaeroplane, just behind the seat of the aviator, and is so designed thatin time of danger it can be instantly thrown into the air andautomatically unreeled and expanded.

Other objects are to provide means whereby the aviator may climb up intothe rst parachute to a place of safety, should o ccassion make itdesirable, as for instance, in the event of the machine catching fire,and also to provide means whereby the aviator, having reached the placeof safety, may detach the aeroplane from the parachute and himself makea safe landing.

Generically the foregoing objects are obtained by building a long narrowbox of light material in the fuselage of the machine, just back of theaviators seat, and as near the center of gravity of the machine aspossible. the box being provided with quick opening instrumentalities;in this box is located a reel on which collapsible parachutes areWound.l when not in use, the several parachutes being serially securedto a strong spring cable of exible steel wire, or other suitablematerial, an auton'iatieally opening air anchor or umbrella-like devicebeing secured to the outer end ofthe cable. while the inner end is madefast tothe reel, the cable being knotted, if desired, at intervals fromthe reel upwardly a suflicient distance to enable the aviator to climbto a place of safety. A detaching device may be provided whereby theaviator may then release the parachute from the machine.

More subordinately the invention is an improvement on that disclosed inmy Patent No. 1,011,683, issued December 12, 1911.

Specification of Letters Patent.

YApplication filed July 2, 1917, Serial No. 178,230.

Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

Renewed October 23, 1918. Serial No. 259,458.

In its more detailed nature, the invention includes those novel detailsof construction, coml'ination and arrangement of' parts, all of whichwill be first fully described, then bc specifically pointed out in theappended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the invention in use.

Fig. is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a view illustrating how the parachutes may be laid out forreeling on the reel.

Fig. l is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section of the box showingthe parachutes unreeling from the reel.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of' the box, in the normal position, partsheilig broken away to show the relative positions of' the rceled upparachutes and the air anchor.

Fig. is a cross section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail view showing a releasing device that may be employed.

Fig. 8 is a side View, parts being broken away illustrating amodification of the invention.

Fig. 9v is a sideelevation illustrating another modification of theinvention.

ln the drawings, in which like letters and numerals of referenceindicate like parts in all of the figures, 1 is'the flying machine whosefuselage 2 is provided with a light long box 3 of aluminum, or othersuitable material, which is located just back of the aviators seat andincludes bearing supports 4 for a rod 5 which is secured by nuts pinnedat 7 against turning off'. The rod 5 sustains the reel, which consistsof the tubular portion 19 and the heads 20, the heads 20 having recesses21 in which ball bearings 2Q, of any approved design, are retained byretaining caps or plates 23 so that the bearings may remain in placewhen ythe reel is removed for winding up the parachutes, as will belater explained.

26 is the suspension cable which is wound around the reel as at 25 andsecured to the eye 24 that is suitably fastened to the reel as apermanent art.

27 indicates knots or enlargements in the cable 26 which are located atintervals from the reel upwardly to the first. parachute 29, it beingunderstood that a plurality of parachutes 29 are preferably used an'darranged .seratm on the cable Q6.

28 is a releasable connector which, when released, will permit theaeroplane to drop.

bottom.

The bottom or mouth of the parachute is guyed by suitable guy cables 30,to the suspension cable 26.

18 designates an air anchor which may be of any approved construction,but preferably such as shown in my patent hereinbefore referred to, theanchor consisting of a self-'opening umbrella-like device that functionsto catch the air and drag out the collapsible parachute parts intoposition to be opened as the machine drops.

The releasing device 28 maybe of any approved construction, such asshown in Fig. 7, in Which a lever 33 is fulcrumed at 34 to the channeledmember 28 and held in position by a pin 35, the lever 33 being designedto be self-opening when the v,pm 35 is Withdrawn, a ring 36 serving toconnect the lo-Wer section of the cable 26 with the lever 33, While theupper section of the cable 26 is connected at 37 to the device 28, asillustrated.

The box 3 is provided With lids 8 that are.-

hinged by self-opening hinges 9 to the box,

the lids 8 having their adjacent edges over-M7 lapping (see Fig. 6) whenclosed and they are held closed by the latch dog 11 on lever 12 that issecured to the flap 14, which is hinged to the front Wall of the box, so

that it may be thrown open, as shown in Fig. 4, to release the' lids andpermit the air anchor to open out. The hinge Hap 14 is provided with a.socket 16 in which' the shank 17 of the air anchor is fastened to holdthe anchor down When the box is closed.

The dog 11 is designed to engage a holding latch 10 on the lidsy and ispreferably heldin such engagement by spring pressure, as for instance,by a stout spring 13, or any other suitable Way.

In practice, the parts are normally positioned as shown in Fig. 5, butshould occasion require the release of the safety lappliance, theaviator simply pulls en the lever 12 to throw it into position, shown infull lines in Fig. 4, whereupon the lids of the box will open out, theair anchor 18 will spring to its open osition, catch the air, releaseitself from t e socket 16 and unreel the parachutes. As the parachutesunreel, the air enterin the same through the entrances k31 Wi l expandthe parachutes, which will then perform their desired functions.

Should the machine catch on fire, the aviator may climb to a place ofsafety above the releasing device 28 and by Withdrawing the pin 35 hemay release the air ship which may be permitted to fall and the aviatorbe lowered gradually and safely by the parachute device.

Numerous modifications and adapta-tions 'of the invention may be readilymade, as

will be manifest to those skilledl in the art, and I do not wish tolimit myself to the structure shown and described, although the same isthe preferable form, beyond what may be necessary by the state of theprior art andthe scope pf the appended claims.

It should 'be understood that the lfabric of the parachute and the airanchor is preferably fire-proofed by impregnation With a suitablefire-proofing compound so that the parachutes will not take fire in theevent that the aeroplane catches on tire.

Should the machine not'be detached from the parachutes, after the groundhas been reached, the parachutes and air anchor may be replaced 'intothe box by removing the reel (and this is done by taking out the rodonwhich the reel turns) and laying the parts down on the ground, as shownin Fig. 3, with the parachute members collapsed, and they may then berolled upon the reel, after Which thefreel may be replaced in the boxand the air'anchor closed and placed in its position also.

In the modification shown in Fig. 8, the .spool is dispensed -With andthe parachute members and air anchor are folded longiltudinally in thechamber 3 formed in the fuselage, While in the modification shown inFig. 9, the spool 20 is located 4transversely in the chamber 3 in thefuselage so as to facilitate the unwinding of the parachute elementsvand prevent any possible binding of the same at the rear end of thechamber.

From the `foregoing "description, taken in connection With theaccompanying drawings, it is thought the complete construction,

'parachute device and normally located in said box, and means forreleasing said air anchor when said cover `is opened.

2. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage, of a box builtinto the fusela e, a self-openn cover for said box, release le means forolding said cover closed, said releasable means including a leverclement having a socket. a reel in said box, a parachute device having acable wound on said reel and connected to sustain said machine when saidparachute dcvice is released, an air anchor connected to said device andnormally located in said box, said air anchor having a shank to entersaid socket and adapted to be released when said cover is opened.

3. The, combination with an aerial na`vi gating machine having afuselage, a rcel located within the contines of the fuselage, aparachute device having` a sustaining cable connected to said rcel, saiddevicel being windablc on said rcel, an air anchor connected to saidparachute device and adapted to be' located within the contines of thefuselage, and means for releasing said anchor from the fuselage tounreel the parachute device. Y

4. The combination with an aerial navigating machine having a fuselage,a reel located within the connes of the fuselage, a parachute devicehaving a sustaininfr cable connected to said reel, said device beingwindablc on said reel, an air anchor connect ed to said parachute deviceand adapted to be located within the contines of the fuselage, means forreleasing said anchor from the fuselage to unreel the parachute device,said means comprising a lever device having a socket, said anchor havinga shank to enter said socket, means holding said lever device torestrain said anchor, said lever device adapted to be moved by theIaviator to release said anchor, substantially, as shown and described.

5. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage, of a box builtinto the fuselage, a self-opening' cover for said box, means forreleasing said cover, a reel in said box, a parachute Adevice having acable wound on said reel and connected to sustain the machine when theparachute is released, an air anchor connected to said parachute deviceand'normally located in said box, means for releasing said air anchorwhen said cover is opened, said cable having knots at intervals from themachine. 6. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage, of abox built into the "fuselage, a self-opening cover for said box,

7. The combination with an aerial navigating machine having a fuselage,a reel located within the confines of the fuselage. a parachute devicehaving a sustaining cable connected to said rcel, said device beingwindable on said reel, an air anchor connected to said parachute deviceand adapt cd to be located within the confines of the fuselage, meanslfor releasing said anchor from the fuselage to unreel the parachutedevice, said cable having knots" at inter vals from the machine.

8. The combination with an aerial navigating machine having a fuselage,a rcel located within the contines of the fuselage, a parachute devicehaving a sustaining cable connected to said reel` said cable beingwindable on said reel, an air anchor connected to said parachute deviceand adapted to be located within the contines of the fuselage, means forreleasing said anchor from the fuselage to nnrecl the parachute device,said means comprising a lever device. having a socket, said anchorincluding a. shank to enter said socket, means holding said lever deviceto restrain said anchor, said lever dcvice adapted to be moved by theaviator to release said anchor, said cable having knots" at intervalsfrom the machine, substantially as shown and for the purposes described.

9. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage, of a box builtinto the fuselage, a self-opening cover for said box, means forreleasing said cover, a reel in said box, a parachute device having acable wound on said reel and connected to sustain the machine when theparachute is released, an air anchor connected to said parclmte deviceand normally located in said box, means for releasing said air anchorwhen said cover is opened, said cable having knots at intervals from themachine, and a releasable con ncct ion in said cable whereby the aviatorcan disconnectI the parachute from the machine a t'ter climbing to a.place of safety.

lt). The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage. of a box builtinto the fuselage, a self-opening cover for said box, relcasable meansfor holding said cover closed, said rclcasable means including a leverclement .having a socket, a reel in said box, a parachute device havinga cable wound on said reel and connected to sustain said machine whensaid parachute device is released, an air anchor connected to saiddevice and normally located in said box, said air anchor having a shankto enter said socket, and adapted to be released when said cover isopened. said cable having knots at intervals from the machine, and areleasable connection in said cable, whereby the aviator can disconnectthe parachute from the machine after climbing to u. place of safety.

11. The combination with an aerial navigating machine having a fuselage,a reel located within the confines of the fuselage, a parachute devicehaving 'a sustaining cable connected to said reel, said device beingwinda'ble on said reel, an air anchor connected to said parachute deviceand adapted to be located within the confines of the fuselage, means forreleasing said anchor from the fuselage to unreel4 the parachute device,said cable having knots at intervals from the machine, and a releasableconnection in said cable whereby the aviator can disconnect theparachute from the machine after climbing to a place of safety.

12. The combination With an aerial navigating machine havin a fuselage,a reel located Within the conmes of the fuselage, a parachute devicehaving a sustaining cable connected to said reel, said cable beingWindable on said reel, an air anchor connected to said parachute deviceand adapted to be located Within the confines of the fuselage, means forreleasing said anchor from the fuselage to unreel the parachute device,said mea-ns comprising a lever device having a socket, said anchorhaving a shankto enter said socket, means holding said lever device torestrain said anchor, said lever device adapted to be moved by theaviator to release said anchor, said cable having knots at intervalsfrom the machine, and a releasable connection in said ca'ble whereby theaviator can disconnect the parachute from the machine after climbing toa place of safety.

13. The combinationrvvi-th an aeroplane" having a fuselage, of a chamberin the fuselage, and a self-opening cover for said cha1nber, a hingedbody having a socket member and a latch device carried by said hingedbody for holding said cover closed with said -socket member projectedinto the chamber, a

parachute device having a cable secured within the chamber and aplurality of parachute members connected with said cable and adapted tobe -normally located Within said cham'ber, an air anchor connected 'tosaid cable and having` a shank held in said socket member, all beingarranged whereby as said latch device is operated to release said coversaid `hinge member Will move 0n its hinged axis to raise said air anchorout of said chamber, substantially as shovvn and described.

14. The combination with an aeroplane having a fuselage provided With achamber, a self-opening cover for said chamber, a lever actuated latchdevice for holding said c'over closed, a plurality of serially arrangedparachute members connected on a cable which is secured to the fuselageat one end, an air anchor connected at the other end of said cable, saidparachute members and said air anchor adapted to be located Within saidchamber with the cover closed under normal conditions, means for holdingsaid air anchor within the chamber, said means connected With said leveractuated device for lifting said air anchor out of said chamber as saidcover is released, substantially as shown and described.

J EAN F. WEBB, SR.

